Back in the heady days of summer 2020, when lockdown was a novelty rather than a way of life, I decided to use a couple of big walks to visit all the closes of the Royal Mile. A “close” (with a hard S) is a narrow alleyway running between buildings, and the historic heart of Edinburgh is packed with them.

For as long as Edinburgh has existed, LGBTQ+ people have walked the city’s streets. Their stories can be harder to uncover, because for most of history people had to hide their identities from the eyes of society, but once you start digging you find a wealth of LGBTQ+ experiences buried in the fabric of the city.